Over the weekend, Judd Apatow moderated a panel at PaleyFest — AKA “Comic Con for TV Nerds” — that reunited the cast of “Freaks and Geeks,” the critically acclaimed (but quickly canceled) NBC show that helped launch the careers of Seth Rogen, James Franco, and Busy Phillips. Franco was the only notable actor to miss the reunion, as he was previously engaged with writing his doctoral thesis, undergoing firefighting training for his next movie role, and making a film about his most recent performance art project, a 35-hour sojourn in Hoboken during which he walked barefoot through the streets and yelled, “My feet are menstruating!” And as everyone knows, James Franco can only be in two places at the same time.

After the panel concluded, hundreds of fans bum-rushed the stage to get autographs from the cast, who lingered for nearly an hour to accommodate all the requests. There was such an outpouring of affection for the show in the theater Saturday that it was almost difficult to remember what a flop it was for NBC when it aired from 1999 to 2000. [ShowTracker]

Don’t get me wrong, I’m pissed that Linda Cardellini never became a bigger star (see slideshow), but “Freaks and Geeks” is wildly overrated as a comedy (as a drama, it captures the crappy awkwardness of high school all too well). I have a hard time believing that HUNDREDS of people bum-rushed a stage for a show that aired for one season over a decade ago. Those people are holding on a just liiiiiiittle too tight. I mean, at least Star Wars geeks have the excuse of wearing costumes.Completely unnecessary Linda Cardellini gallery? Completely unnecessary Linda Cardellini gallery.

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03.14.11 at 4:01 pm

chazz_goodtimes

I’m not surprised that out of the people willing to attend something called Paleyfest you could find 100 who’s sense of nostalgia has turned a show like Freaks and Geeks into something it never was- to the point where they would rush a stage.

I do completely agree that Linda Cardellini deserved more than Grandma’s Boy.

03.14.11 at 4:07 pm

John Doe

Completely unnecessary Linda Cardellini gallery.

It was completely necessary.

03.14.11 at 4:08 pm

Biz

Watched the show on DVD and loved it… and you forget in Notables, Jason Segal

03.14.11 at 4:11 pm

GFunk

Based on the evidence, I would argue that Linda Cardellini galleries are necessary…now more than ever.

03.14.11 at 4:13 pm

Grimmy

You’re spot on about F&G’s actual lack of humor Matt. If it were funnier it would have been one of the best TV shows ever. As it stands, it was just a very well observed and affecting show.

03.14.11 at 4:14 pm

La Schmoove

I don’t understand how I live in a world where chloe kardashian and snooki and their fug fuggliness are bigger stars than cardellini. It makes me so mad, I could just masturbate!

*goes back to titty lickin’ pic.*

03.14.11 at 4:16 pm

Upstate Underdog

What GFunk and John Doe, that gallery was necessary and appreciated. Pics 4 and 8 especially. Also, she is weirdly hot as Thelma.

03.14.11 at 4:21 pm

miamidiesel

Don’t get me wrong, I’m pissed that Linda Cardellini never became a bigger star

Co-signed

03.14.11 at 4:33 pm

Patty Boots

Nothing ensures boundless adoration for a show quite like appealing to nerds and then getting cancelled.

03.14.11 at 4:35 pm

The Hammer

Freaks and Geeks and Undeclared are incredibly overrated. Its over romanticized nostalgia

03.14.11 at 4:36 pm

chazz_goodtimes

Picture 6 is from Grandma’s Boy… so thank you Adam Sandler?

03.14.11 at 4:42 pm

Watanabex

at least Busy Phillips lives on in cougartown! (I’m a cougartown fan btw)

03.14.11 at 4:43 pm

Biz

To be fair, the people who go to a television convention are probably extremists to begin with I mean, they’re going out of their way to basically listen to something you can hear on DVD commentary. (And nobody listens to that either unless you’re super nerdy.) They’d probably do the same at a SBTB panel.

03.14.11 at 4:45 pm

Biz

Also, I probably should’ve looked up and saw that somebody else had already posted under Biz. We’re not the same user. That’s just my usual screen-name. Oops.

03.14.11 at 4:45 pm

meowmix

I wonder if Scooby ever ate that Scooby snatch.

03.14.11 at 4:47 pm

Smello

I watched F&G on DVD about a year ago. I really enjoyed it, did find it to have very funny moments & would’ve enjoyed watching more of it. However, I must conserve my nerd outrage for Firefly. I’d shove a little old lady out of the way to get to Nathan Fillion.

03.14.11 at 4:59 pm

The Hammer

oh man I remember seeing Scoobi Doo and wanting to furiously beat off to velma. now I know why

03.14.11 at 5:16 pm

Steve Holt!

Co-signs on wanting to rail LC Velma.

03.14.11 at 5:27 pm

Matt G.

Did Seth Rogen get fat again?

03.14.11 at 6:23 pm

Mickey B.

Hey

So I was one of the hundreds of nerds that bumrushed the stage on Saturday night (and by hundreds, I mean 50 tops). Freaks and Geeks means a lot to me and I think it’s easy to take for granted how well it captures adolescence, both its hilariously awkward moments and its painful ones. It has nothing to do with my sense of nostalgia, it’s just well-written television, that’s both funny and sad in equal measure. I am not an extremist, but thought it was worth paying $40 bucks to see those that contributed to my favorite TV show and see/listen to them as human beings talk about the show rather than as voices emitting from my TV screen via often vacuous commentaries. Not to say what they said on Saturday was completely enlightening, but when you have Judd Apatow as the moderator, the tone of the Q&A wasn’t going to stray from being light-hearted and fun even when it could be something more (i.e. Funny People). I would have liked to have heard more about the writing process, but all in all it was worth it. And thanks to getting my DVD set signed by most of the cast and Paul Feig, I now have an amazing gift for my uber-dork sister for her wedding. Anyway, I think it’s funny that people think commenting on a website, which is equivalent to whistling in the dark, is totally worth their time while going to see something at PaleyFest totally isn’t. The internet is a haven for shouting assumptions about people and I think, unlike Freaks and Geeks, that’s just sad and not funny.

03.14.11 at 7:00 pm

dachshund

Whistling in the dark? Duh…winning!

PS PaleyFest sounds pretty cool. I am a total TV nerd and never heard of it…Alison Brie is going to be there tomorrow…I’m going to show up there with my Lobster Dog/Kiki corgi fundraiser shirt on and a freshly shorn mohawk and ask people if they are talking to me and then ask Briesy out on a date and take her to a totally adult movie and then start driving a taxi around looking for Mickey B.

03.14.11 at 8:34 pm

Otto Man

Am I the only one who didn’t realize she played Velma?

Eh, I stand by my decision to avoid that movie at all costs. Goddamn meddling kids and their fucking dog.

03.15.11 at 12:09 am

Nickjaa

More pictures, higher resolution of the picture that’s here too. Also I didn’t know Linda Cardelllllllinnnnni was so hot.

03.15.11 at 12:51 am

Badger3k

No wonder Velma was hot. I agree. completely necessary. Never watched the show – I vaguely remember when it came out and completely ignoring it. On the other hand, now I know two more names of tv people I’ve never heard of, so I guess that’s a plus. Somebody really named their kid “busy”? Seriously?

03.15.11 at 12:52 am

Badger3k

ok – quick look shows “Busy” is a nickname.

03.15.11 at 9:59 am

Taco_Jones

Mickey, what you apparently don’t understand is that we’re mostly posting from work, so we’re trying to waste time.

03.15.11 at 11:09 am

godotzilla

Franco the only no-show? I don’t see Joe Flaherty in that group shot either. No love for Count Floyd?

03.15.11 at 5:55 pm

tim

Overrated? I call bullshit. It was one of the funniest shows in the past 15 years.

03.22.11 at 7:15 pm

freakandgeek

I recently saw the show on DVD for the first time also and could totally relate to the freaks and the geeks. Loved it! How bout a shout out to all the plus-sized hotties out there like Busy Phillips! Love her!